| Objective: Kayaking at Ha Long Bay, Vietnam Explore: Sea caves, arches, pillars Distance: 2 miles Kayaking Time: 1 hour |
Kayaking at Ha Long Bay is a great way to see its legendary limestone mountain landscapes, overlapping ridgelines, and islands. Ha Long Bay’s unbelievable natural scenery is a divine arrangement of rocks from the sea to the sky. There are over 1,600 round jagged islands floating in the water. From these spectacular vistas, isolated karst limestone towers rise from the porous terrain. Rainwater easily dissolves limestone, resulting in distinctive caves, arches, and pillars.
| The Legend of Descending Dragons | Cruising Ha Long Bay | To the Tiniest Beach | Aiming for the Cave | Paddling around a Funky Bay | Exploring a Tiny Isle | A Morning Paddle | Plan Your Visit |
The Legend of Descending Dragons
The Vietnamese have a legend for explaining the charms of Ha Long Bay. A Mother Dragon and her children descended from heaven to protect the people of Vietnam from invaders. During a fierce battle, the dragons breathed fire on the boats and sprayed jade and emeralds into the sea. Then, the stones rose magnificently between heaven and earth, forming an impenetrable wall of islands that blocked the enemy fleet. The dragon family then decided to stay and live within this lovely scenery. These majestic limestone mountains now grace Ha Long Bay, which means “descending dragon” in Vietnamese. This is an appropriate myth for a proud people with a significant history of defending their land.
Cruising Ha Long Bay
When you arrive at the port in Haiphong, you drive past resorts and cruise line offices. A one-mile-long bridge leads to the small island of Tuần Châu where the marina is located. After checking in to the La Casta Cruise, the cruise line has a private lounge where you wait to embark.
A ferry takes you into the bay since there aren’t enough deep docks for the 500 ships at sea. The water groans with a fleet of cruise ships ready to depart. The bottom floor of the ship holds the staff rooms. The second and third floors have cozy cabins with balconies and bathrooms. The fourth floor has suites, a bar, and a jacuzzi. A spiral blue staircase leads to the open-air upper deck. The dining room is on the third.
To the Tiniest Beach
At the assigned hour, a small shuttle boat ferries the kayaking group to a tiny isle with the tiniest beach. The beach is not much bigger than a basketball court and the island is mostly mountainous. Where the beach meets the rock, there is a skinny notch. There is already another group playing beach volleyball and catching some sun. The crew lines up half a dozen kayaks on the sand along with a stack of beach towels.
Aiming for the Cave
Once you start paddling out from the tiny isle, make a beeline for the sea caves on the other side. Head south and keep the coastline and mountain wall to your right. While the walls typically reach the water’s edge, there are pockets of sand. As you pass by these remote beaches, you can stop to frolic on the sand whenever you like.
The mountain walls are pretty much vertical except where water has started to erode the rock at the base. About 20 feet above the waterline, the wall slopes inward about 10 to 20 feet. Inside these slanted recesses, sometimes the water has made it to the other side – forming tunnels and sea caves. If you time it right, you can shoot through one of these sea caves. Just remember to check your speed, aim for the center, keep away from the walls, and lower your head.
Paddling around a Funky Bay
After rounding the corner with a 180-degree turn, you may be inspired to circumnavigate what appears to be an island. It is actually a jagged finger extending from the largest island of the Cat Ba Archipelago. It would probably take days to paddle around that island. However, you can head to a private bay and turn back.
While paddling through the crystal clear and tranquil turquoise waters, you might notice a fishing boat or two. As I approached the bay, a boat headed toward me. A fisherfolk waved at me and smiled, and I waved back. Then, he started dumping buckets below the dark and tall rocky wall of the island. I immediately smelled something extremely fishy. He was chumming the waters with rotting fish with the hopes of improving his daily catch. The putrid odor was overpowering, so I had to quickly paddle away from the mountain’s edge. It got so bad that I had to abandon making it to the bay. Instead, I turned back for the starting point at the tiny beach.
Exploring a Tiny Isle
I have hiked to the top of countless mountains, but I have never paddled next to a mountain. They may be islands; however, they are more like peaks. They have tall vertical faces, round tops, and coverings of dense green vegetation. Once the initial isle is in sight, I paddle with all my might for a textbook beach landing. At this diminutive strip of sand, you can play some beach volleyball. You can swim in the bay. Hiking options are more limited. It only takes five minutes to walk from one side of the beach to the other. At the sides, you can walk inside the alcoves. Rocks and pools dot the ground. And the ceiling has overhanging molar-shaped gray boulders. After exploring the isle, crewmembers load the kayaks onto the shuttle boat, and the boat returns to the large ship.
A Morning Paddle
In the morning, you might have the opportunity to go kayaking again. The ship has anchored overnight away from the main lanes. This time, no shuttle will be necessary. Step off the back of the ship onto your kayak and start paddling. The water seems more peaceful and the lighting is golden. Paddle next to the eastern shore of Cat Ba Island. It’s fun to imagine this area millions of years ago when the rock was submerged and covered with coral. After eons of geologic uplift, the rocky peaks have now trapped the shells and skeletons of ancient marine life.
Plan Your Visit
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